Perspectives
by Skydiver8
Summary: Short series of one-shots, from the POV of friends/crew, showing the early stages of a F!ShepxGarrus relationship. Mostly ME1, some ME2.
1. Miranda

_A/N: Hi all! Found some old ME stuff on my hard drive and thought I'd put it out there. This is just a small collection of one-shots/drabbles that I wrote to play around with perspective and voice._

_Just some random situations concerning my favorite pair, FemShep and Garrus, seen through the eyes of their friends, early in their relationship. In my personal game canon, Andrea Shepard (paragon, vanguard) had no romance in ME1, because even though she didn't know it herself, she was saving herself for Garrus. ;)_

_Mostly ME1, some early ME2. These aren't in consecutive order! If you guys like them, I'll put out some more, these were the most reader-ready. I've taken a few liberties with the in-game scenes._

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**Miranda**

Three weeks.

Andrea Shepard had been _technically_ awake for three weeks, a miracle of my own making, yet I could tell she wasn't herself. Not the Commander Shepard the Alliance and the Council had memorialized two years before. They had left her for dead, and from my observations, they weren't far wrong.

As we worked our way through the alleys of Omega, I wondered if I had failed, if the Lazarus Project was only half complete. I could never report that to the Illusive Man. No, he had to believe Shepard was whole, perfectly returned to her pre-death state. But when I looked at Shepard, when I truly watched her, I saw _nothing_ behind her eyes, and it frightened me.

Of course Shepard was alive, the blood flowing and heart beating thanks to my work, but she walked as if slightly dazed, emotionless, seemingly alert but lost in whatever memories gripped her. Did she dream of the Prothean images burned into her mind by the beacon on Eden Prime? Perhaps it was a more recent haunting; one didn't die and become reborn without the experience leaving indelible scars on the psyche.

I supposed I should be a bit more understanding, after all, her combat abilities seemed perfectly intact. In fact, the cybernetics we implanted seemed to have sharpened her, increasing her effectiveness in battle. And her ability to charm even the most cynical mercenary leaders remained unmatched. It was in evidence here as I watched her wrest information about this vigilante out of the crusty old merc mechanic working on a gunship near the insertion point.

It truly amazed me how Shepard could get people to talk to her, telling her their problems, the details of a mission, even information that should have been classified. It was an ability I didn't have, and frankly, I was a bit jealous. Despite the psychological issues I suspected she harbored, I began to see how building this team might actually work. Even as an emotional wreck, she was unbelievably charismatic.

The merc mechanic's comm link buzzed, informing us that the insertion team was in position. We had already hacked the Eclipse mechs, but I could see no way to disable this gunship so it wouldn't hinder us later, and we were out of time.

"You're working too hard," Shepard said as the mechanic turned toward the aircraft. I watched in shock as she casually picked up a wicked looking tool and stabbed him in the back.

"Well," Jacob coughed, "that's one way to take care of that gunship."

That sort of thing was definitely not a part of Shepard's behavioral profile, and might bear some watching. "We should get moving," I added, eying Shepard warily.

Just as we were about to step out of cover and onto the bridge, one of the other freelancers fell at our feet, a bullet hole perfectly placed between his eyes.

"Wow, what a shot!" Jacob exclaimed. "That bridge is at least 300 meters long. This Archangel is _good_! Now I see how he's lasted so long on his...Commander?"

Shepard was kneeling over the freelancer's body, staring at the wound made by a high-caliber sniper rifle. She ignored Jacob as she reached forward and touched the hole, and if it wasn't completely crazy, I would have said she did it reverently, as if touching an ancient relic. After several seconds, Shepard jumped up and grabbed my arms, startling me.

"Come on, Miranda! We have to go NOW." For the first time in three weeks, I saw emotion in Shepard. She was actually smiling. A genuine, true smile that reached her eyes, which were bright with unshed tears.

"Shepard, what..." I trailed off, disbelieving.

She laughed as she threw me aside and started across the bridge, tossing mercs out of the way with her biotics. I had to run to keep up, she was moving so fast. "Shepard, wait!" I yelled, afraid of her recklessness.

She glanced up at the sniper on the balcony above us, then back over her shoulder at Jacob and me. "Come on," she grinned. "I only know one turian in this whole god-forsaken galaxy who can make a shot like that!"

Three weeks. It had taken three weeks for the Lazarus project to be truly complete once Shepard awoke. As much as I hated to admit, it wasn't my work that completed it, either. That honor belonged to this turian vigilante, Shepard's best friend, and if I were one to wax poetic, I might call him her Archangel.


	2. Tali'Zorah

_A/N: One of my favorite side planets from ME1 ;) Enjoy!_

**Tali'Zorah**

"Ugh, Garrus, you smell like...well, like how I always imagined space monkey would smell, I suppose," Shepard wrinkled her nose and grinned at the turian as she removed her helmet. This was one of the rare times I was grateful for my mask and suit. I didn't smell anything.

I couldn't help but giggle at the expression on Garrus's face as he grumbled a reply. "Far be it from me to question your orders, Commander, but I still don't understand why it had to be _me_ hunting for that data module while you two stood around looking amused."

"Why, that's simple, Vakarian." Shepard was still grinning as she strapped into the seat of the Mako and ignited the engine. "You're faster than me, and Tali can't afford to have her suit torn by monkey claws. Plus, it _was _rather amusing, wasn't it, Tali?"

"Well, it's not every day you see a turian chasing monkeys around a cave!" I laughed in reply.

Garrus just huffed and settled into his chair as the Mako picked up speed, but I could tell he wasn't really angry. I glanced out the porthole at the landscape. Eletania was a beautiful planet, with green meadows surrounded by high granite mountains. It was a shame the air was toxic to every off-world species. I would suggest it as a place for my people to settle, but our goal was to get _out_ of the enviro-suits, not be stuck in them forever.

"What are we doing, Shepard? I thought we were done here," Garrus asked. He still sounded slightly annoyed, though I suspected it was more out of hurt pride than anything else. I still had a lot to learn about other species, but I knew Garrus hated to look stupid in front of anyone, especially Shepard. It was obvious how hard he tried to impress her, to prove his worth on the mission. It seemed silly to me, as she wouldn't have brought him along if she didn't think he was capable. I grinned, and turned back to the window, glad he couldn't see my expression.

"I'm picking something up on the readout, I just want to check it out before we go. Should be just over this ridge here...oh!" The Mako slowed as we stared out the front windows at the structure that elicited Shepard's exclamation. It was Prothean, even I knew that, and it looked like some kind of monument. In the center was a sphere that was perfectly reflective, almost as if it was made of water, or mercury. Before I could say anything, Shepard and Garrus were buckling their helmets, eager to take a closer look.

I hung back a bit as they approached the sphere. The surface rippled slightly when Shepard trailed her hand along it. Perhaps things that defied every natural law of the universe frightened me, but I had a strange sense of foreboding. Shepard's excited tone interrupted my thoughts.

"Look at this! There's a depression here on the bottom, like something is missing. The shape seems so familiar..."

Garrus knelt down next to her and peered at the place Shepard indicated. "Hmmm. That thing the asari consort gave you, back on the Citadel? It looks like that."

"Garrus, you're a genius!" She laughed as she slapped Garrus on the back and started digging in one of the pouches on her armor. I was surprised to see that she carried the strange trinket with her out on missions, but then again, Shepard often did things that were inexplicable to me.

Garrus chuckled and replied, "Not a genius, Shepard, just an investigator doing his job." It was hard to tell through the communicator, but he almost sounded embarrassed.

I stepped forward as Shepard moved to place the trinket in the sphere. "Um, Commander? Are you sure you want to do that? What if it...explodes or something?" I tried to keep the worried note out of my voice.

'Relax, Tali, I don't think..." She trailed off as the completed sphere began to rise into the air. It was emitting a sound that could only be described as music, a note that sounded like a thousand voices blended together. It was hauntingly beautiful and incredibly alien at the same time. Shepard and Garrus were standing, and she reached out to touch the floating sphere again.

Suddenly there was a bright flash, and the tone came to an abrupt stop. Garrus barely had time to catch Shepard as she slumped over, unconscious. I ran to them as he gently lowered her to the ground and cradled her head in his lap.

"Shepard? Shepard!" He sounded frantic. I pulled out my omnitool and started a scan. "Tali, what's wrong with her? Can you tell anything? What the hell happened?! Dammit, you were right, she never should have touched that thing. Andrea!"

I frowned as he continued to call to Shepard, shaking her slightly. I had never heard the normally calm turian sound so frightened, and I had _certainly_ never heard him use her first name. "Garrus, I can't get any accurate readings if you don't calm down and hold her still. What's the matter with you anyway?"

Garrus started slightly and took a deep breath. I wished I could see his face when he glanced at me, but his helmet visor was too dark to make out any expression. He looked off toward the horizon, then turned his attention to Shepard once again. "Sorry," he said softly, and I couldn't tell if he was talking to her or to me.

"Alright, scan's complete," I said, double-checking the results. "Strange. Everything seems normal, but I'm detecting a similar level of brain activity as one would see in REM sleep." I looked at Shepard again and noticed that Garrus had taken one of her hands in his own. "She's, well, it looks like she's _dreaming._"

"What? So she's okay?" The relief in his voice was palpable and a suspicion began to form in the back of my mind.

"I think so," I replied. "Still wouldn't hurt to get her back to the Normandy and checked out by Dr. Chakwas, though."

I was about to radio Joker when Shepard stirred. Garrus hastily dropped her hand and called her name again, softly this time.

"I...why am I on the ground?" She asked, her voice groggy as she slowly sat up. "I...I dreamed, I think. It was strange. Almost like...a memory."

Garrus stood and helped her to her feet, explaining how she had fainted. I watched them make their way slowly back to the Mako, Garrus hovering near Shepard protectively, and my suspicion coalesced into a full-blown idea.

"Come on, Tali," Garrus yelled as he helped Shepard into the passenger seat of the Mako.

I smiled widely and jogged toward the vehicle, vowing to read up on human-turian relationships as soon as I could.


	3. Wrex

_A/N: Short one, but what can I say? It's Wrex!_

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**Wrex**

Virmire. What a kick in the quad that was. Now the whole ship is in mourning. It's quiet, like a goddamned tomb. It's driving me nuts.

Most of them are torn up about Alenko, but me, I'm pissed off. At Shepard for convincing me to destroy the salvation of my people. At Saren for twisting that salvation into something that had to be destroyed. At the world for taking another good fighter. I want to hit something.

I'm about to slam my fist into the nearest locker when the elevator door hisses and Shepard steps out, looking like she'd been chewed up and spat out by a varren. I'm not surprised to see her down here. She's always down here, sometimes chatting about female crap with Williams, but usually she's parked on top of the Mako, discussing who the hell knows what with that blasted turian.

Humans. Never understood their ridiculous emotional response to death, especially a combat death. Well, most humans. Shepard was different. Most humans, in her place, would probably run straight to Williams and hug or sob or do some other touchy-feely crap that would make my palms itch. Not her.

Shepard walks straight to Vakarian, who's got his head under that piece of crap vehicle, kicks his foot, and says in a voice loud enough for the whole ship to hear, "come on, Garrus. I need to beat something up, and it might as well be you."

Now, I may be a krogan, but I ain't dumb. I know turians, and I know_ this_ turian, probably better than he knows himself. Well, at least where Shepard is concerned. And I know that this little "fight" she's picking is a bad idea. Bad for the crew, bad for her command, and bad for for my peace of mind. I don't care if they fall together later, but right now we have a job to do and it's too damned important for her to screw it up because she doesn't understand how turians work, or that this particular turian is stupid for her.

I head over to the Mako before things get out of hand.

"Shepard, leave Vakarian alone, it's too easy. You need to spar with someone who'll fight back. Come on."


End file.
